Category Archives: Cappuccino

I think this is the ONLY cafe in KL that is set in the open… No air-con and near to nature. Yup, there are trees around and as anything close to nature, there are others living creatures flying around too.

Well, any coffee lover worth his salt or espresso will brave the outdoor for a good cup of coffee, right?

Yayasan Seni Berdaftar – Off Jalan Ritchie, Jalan Ampang.

Feels like in a Resort?

The Menu

Alang the Barista. Hey, he originate from Jalan Imbi man. No wonder he is so cool.

Single Origin Espresso – Sumatra Mandheling

Lovely pour. Manual Pre-infusion 😀

Well textured cappuccino. Ask for a small cup though.

The Espresso
I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the espresso without knowing what blend they were using. It was bright, good body and lovely sweetness. Then I found out that it was not a blend but using only Sumatra Mandheling. I have not know Mandheling to be sweet. This is very interesting. I’m impressed.

It is hidden in a secluded location. Those not familiar with Ampang may have problems finding it.
Follow the map. X marks the spot.

Like this:

The Epic Espresso Blend has been one of my favourite espresso blend for quite some time. And of course, I had Simon to thank for introducing this lovely coffee to me. And being the true fan of Epic himself, he went to visit EPIC for a coffee spree. Below are the accounts from the man himself:

Adventure at Epic

Finally, after years of drinking the Epic Blend, I am finally visiting the famous café in Western Australia. Can Epic lives up to its tremendous reputation?

We were greeted with the fresh aroma of coffee even as we got off our car. The café is small and sits about 25 inside and another 10 outside. It spots a cool blend of retro and contemporary design. Nothing beats the industrial sound of human and machine combining to make great espresso.

KF Chan: note the price. very cheap if you are an Australian

Since the walkway between the bar and seating areas was quite small I was not able to observe the baristas in action. A few things I noticed though:

Every milk drink has latte art

They use the huge Synesso machines and Mazzar Robur grinders

The baristas adjusted the volume of the milk before doing free style latte art

They used the Greg Pullman tamper – and I found out later that the design was a collaboration between Greg and Epic.

Mr & Mrs Simon

First batch order – 1 Flat White, 1 Ristretto, 1 Latte, 1 Piccolo Latte and Affogato. The moment of truth as our orders arrived. The following comments were drinks ordered and consumed by me:KF Chan: Greedy fella. Consume all by yourself??? Your wife just watch and take photos issit 😀

Flat White

No Sugar Needed

Flat White – 1 part espresso and 5 part milk – incredibly sweet without any sugar yet does not take anything away from the coffee. Best milk based drink I have ever tasted!

Ristretto

Ristretto – The “restricted” shot of about 18ml of double espresso, nice deep red and brown colour – the shot is very intense with caramelised sweet finish. There’s not a single hint of bitterness. Not something I will drink often but a showcase of how good the Epic Blend can be.KF Chan: Are you sure 18ml for a double ristretto? A single espresso shot is 30ml. 18ml for a double is too short, right?

Latte

Piccolo Latte

Belgian Chocolate Couverture

Then we were offered the “Mojo” – a drink only offered by the Barista to their friends. The base was a single shot espresso, then filled with Belgian Chocolate Couverture and topped with another double shot espresso – then the drink was stirred – taste a bit like liquor chocolate.

Cappuccino

Mocha

The next day I came back (and actually the day after next as well) and I tried their Cappuccino and Mocha. I usually dislike Mocha because it can taste a bit bitter when not done properly. This version was superb and silky smooth although it can be a bit too sweet for those who are used to drinking coffee without sugar.

Truly Epic Café lives up to its considerable reputation. I went to the café three days in a row. There was a slight drop in the quality on day 3 (with a different crew) but overall they displayed an absolute master class in preparing espresso drinks. Three days and AUD150 (RM450) spent – it was a great experience. Epic claimed they could possibly be one of the best espresso café in Australia – based on my experience I would not disagree.

Thank you Simon for these lovely photos and memories.
Note to self: Must visit Epic before I go.

dr.CAFE
“The best coffee in the world”

It was very well decorated. And they sells some very interesting stuff… mugs, cups, thermos, thermometer, french presses, drip coffee makers and ready for this… The Eva Solo coffee maker.

The Eva Solo is a really cool and sexy looking coffee brewer man. Wee Chuan should really do a review on it.

The pastry bar looks good but I can’t be spending so much on them. You guys give them a try and tell me if they are really as good as they look, ok.

They also have quite a selection of single origin whole beans. Guatemala. Costa Rica, Sumatra, Ethiopia, Columbian and their own espresso blend too. And surprising there is “manufacturing date” on the packaging.

The “manufacturing date” is SURPRISE! SURPRISE! July 2009!!!!

JULY 2009!!!

Can you believe that?

Ok, I thought to myself, if the “manufacturing date” (which I hope it really meant roasting date) is only 2 months old, maybe the coffee should be pretty good.

So I ordered an espresso and cappuccino. From the way I was looking through, they asked if I’m a coffee lover and i answered affirmatively. I ask the barista how many seconds is their standards of espresso extraction and he says 17 to 23 seconds. O-Oh… red flag… then i remind myself, “Don’t be so judgemental. Even Barista Competition also states between 18 to 26 seconds. See first”.

Then I stand right next to the espresso machine and squeezed myself into the corner to take a good look at the preparation process. I have my camera out and ready to snap some pic.

But alas, the “barista” says.. no, no… cannot take pic and point me to the “no camera” sign. Sigh… ok.

Well, if I’m not allowed to take pic, all my attention will be on how he is going to prepare my drinks.

Then serves me the espresso. I took a sip and walk to the other side on the counter when they gave me my cappuccino.

Espresso: Lack of crema (doesn’t look like a 2 months old beans), bitter and burnt taste.

Cappuccino: Hard foam on top. I took a careful sip and OUCH… burnt my tongue. Wow!!! Remember the milk already done at step 7. How in the world it can still burn my tongue I cannot tell. Did they re-froth the milk while I was walking around the counter? I don’t know but one patch of my tongue just lost sensation.

Like this:

Finally, the Black Nuova Simonelli Oscar has arrived. If you want to get a good espresso machine in Malaysia, read on.

After 2 months of wait, alas… This is every coffee geek dream espresso machine.. Or rather, dream espresso machine for those who don’t have a lots of money to invest. If I have more money to invest, of course I’ll get the super-sexy Vibiemme Domobar.

Here is a quick review:

Does not take up much space and can move it around without killing your back.

There is ample space to put your cups on. Haven’t really opportunity to calculate how long it takes to really warm up any cups.

Open the top flap and you will have access to the water tank. The water tank holds about 2.1 litre of water.

Only 2 buttons: The On/Off switch and brewing switch.

Light-indicator from top right to left:
1. machine light turns on when On/Off switch is turned on.
2. brewing light turns on when the brew button is turned on.
3. water tank lights on when water tank finishes water.

Big Button on the left is the Steam Switch. Turn 3.5 times to get steam, powerful steam.

The Steam Wand can be rotated around 360 degree.

Portafilter must be tightly locked. I push all the way to about 25 min to ensure no leakage around the portafilter during brewing session. Earlier when I did not tighten it enough and water leaks a bit.

In case some of you still do not know, there is an excellent program about coffee on Astro channel 311.

It’s Coffee Confidential with Moses Chan: 9 episodes, every Sunday at 9pm. If you are fans of Hong Kong Series, you will know that Moses Chan is one of the very popular star in recent times. He is a coffee enthusiasts. His program introduces coffee from the basic to the complex, from the farm to the cafe. I think it is an excellent development of coffee exposure to the Malaysian Public. Check out Wee Chuan’s blog, he will probably give a summary of every episode.

But somethine even better happened. Astro manage to arrange for Moses to have a Coffee Forum in Malaysia. And I was privilage to be invited as one of the panel.

So, last Saturday at Berjaya University College of Hospitality, I was having coffee with Moses Chan. Astro organized the event and on the panel was Moses, Sum Leong and yours truly. The EmCee was Vivian Tok. There were about 40 students and invited guests in the audience.

Well, this is as close as I have ever get to a celebrity 🙂
We must be laughing over some bad coffee experience.

Here is Ms. Sum Leong, the other panelist. She is demonstrating how to brew coffee using a Syphon Device. Sum Leong has a small cafe in Shaw Parade, Pudu.

Sharing freshly brewed Sumatra beans. Not bad at all.

Moses and I were asked to demonstrate making espresso and cappuccino.
Well, you can see where all the attention goes to lah 🙂

Hopefully this little program will see air-time over in Astro. When I get the schedule, I’ll let eveyone know.

About Moses
He is a friendly guy. That is not a surprise at all. Trained in the art of PR. But make no mistake, he knows about coffee. That means what you see in his program is not just someone reading from a script.

He is a barista too. Better than most behind the bar in any cafe in Malaysia for sure. During the demo, he paid attention to grind adjustment, paid attention to extration rate, froth milk correctly on the 3rd attempt and manage to pour latte art too.

In the private interview after the forum, he told of his experience with kopi luwak. I assure you that he was being very courteous during the filming with regards to kopi luwak. Very courteous and polite.. if you know what I mean 🙂

Hey, he owns an Aeropress too. And he also gave me a copy of his program “Coffee Confidential” on a copy-protected and autographed DVD.

Coffee Scenes in Malaysia
As far as promoting quality gourmet coffee is concern, more exposure, education and publicity is needed. We as consumers (especially those who love coffee) MUST demand quality from anyone attempting to sell us coffee that cost more than RM4.

Why? Well, even gourmet coffee are consider cheap as far as raw material is concern. Most single shot of espresso cost no more than 50 cents. Many are even cheaper and even the more expensive ones cost no more than a ringgit. I’m willing to pay Rm10 for a cappuccino only if they are well made. A well made cup of cappuccino requires good beans, good machine, good milk, good environment and GOOD SKILLS. All these things cost money. Any cafe who does not spend money on all these good requirements has no right to charge you even RM4 for a lousy cup of coffee.

Berjaya University College of Hospitality
The Espresso Machine is in a sad condition. Dispersion screen probably block. Gasket dying and water is leaking during extraction. How do you expect good barista to come out from there? They make us a pot of french press using the very “expensive” Jamaican Blue Mountain beans. Ughhhh… STALE. Funnily, the few cups very given to the audience. Lucky for Moses, he didn’t manage to taste it. One last cup available, I took a sip…. yup… taste as stale as it smelt.